1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new and improved method of and apparatus for making a plowshare. A plowshare is the irregularly shaped part of a moldboard plow that is provided to cut the furrow slice at the bottom and side, and which includes a point that penetrates the soil first, a horizontal cutting edge, and an outside corner. Usually a plowshare is made of steel or chilled iron.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Machines for assisting blacksmiths and other mechanics in the shaping of and manufacture of plowshares have long been known in the prior art, several such machines being disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos:
125,908; D. H. Rowe; Apr. 23, 1972
189,150; C. H. Thompson; Apr. 3, 1977
195,627; T. Meikle; Sept. 25, 1977
2,147,882; E. N. Childs; Feb. 21, 1939
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 189,150 and 2,147,882, separately cut and heated metal blanks are attached to each other, being placed in several dies in which they are welded together, thereby forming a plowshare. In U.S. Pat. No. 125,908, a notched metal plate with a narrow flange is first prepared, then heated and introduced between upper and lower dies, which, at one blow of the upper die, produces a plowshare. U.S. Pat. No. 195,627 discloses a bending machine for making frog-plates for plows. The machine includes a stationary form or former that is cut in the required shape and a movable die that are brought together with a metal blank placed on edge between them. This makes the blank assume the shape of the form. A roll is then passed over the top of the form to bend a portion of the blank, making that portion conform to the shape of the exterior surface of the form.
Such prior art machines for making plowshares are characterized either in their requirement for preforming of the blank from which the plowshare is shaped, including handling and manipulation of several metal blanks which are first cast and then welded together, or they present the disadvantage that bending and shaping on the predetermined or prescribed positions requires the use of both a die and a roll in addition to the former in which the required shape is cut.